Do I hate my job, or do I just hate work?

That would be nice. Thanks Soz. Right now I'm in the middle of one of these wonderful corporate non-flow tasks, so I'll have to think about how that relates to me later. But thanks.

I like that flow explanation, Soz. That is what is good about designing practical yet beautiful-in-some-way plans for clients and then having those plans turn into real space. That is all very satisfying. Especially since I moved up here and partner with a like minded designer - we virtually never, or almost never, argue about design, riff off each other instead - we mostly do concepts, with detailed working drawings as needed. So the work is much less tedious than when I worked in a bigger firm, and spent midnight oil doing irrigation plans for 96 houses...

Hey, I'm talking myself into loving my job...

I do love it, mostly. I just want twice as much time in my life.

A good question!
Hi, I found this thread by chance. Not a good idea to bring back a past thread but I think this is a very good topic. I'm writing this from Japan and I hate both my current job and work itself. Who would choose to work rather than be at home watching TV?

We don't mind past threads being opened. In some of the forums on a2k, I dearly wish people would check out, look at, and read past threads.

Welcome to a2k..

To answer your question, I've worked a long time, and now I'd like to work on my own areas of interest. But, that is still work, just not work with all the usual accompanying setup.

Wow, reading this thread again was interesting to say the least. Nice to be able to go back in time like that to a two or three-day period almost two years ago. Boy, I guess I was pretty unhappy about work back then, huh?

Thank god I got out of that shithole. I still haven't found a job I like, but I don't feel a boiling pit of frustration and hatred in the middle of my gut all the time either. I guess that's progress.

Good for you Kicky.Im glad one of us has got out, I have my fingers crossed that you find a job you love soon.

Thanks, Materialgirl. I hope you get one too!

Boy kicky, I was about to jump in your behind with both feet, thinking that you had gotten yourself stuck in another shitty job situation, before realizing that you had resurrected an old thread.

Ha! No, actually it was StraightNoChaser that resurrected it. But I'm glad he or she did! In fact, I may go looking back at other old threads of mine to see what, if anything, has changed since then.

I guess it's a good thing I had A2K and all you guys around for that whole time when I was miserable. Thanks to all of you for that.

Hey kix, I owe you a beverage.

I'm he actually... I'm a Japanese bloke who hates his job from the bottom of his heart.

Glad to know you aren't feeling miserable any more. So you say you're enjoying your current job? Just wondering.

Yes, you do. When the hell am I gonna git it!!!???

Hey, StraightNoChaser, to answer your question, no, I wouldn't say I'm exactly enjoying my current job, but I don't hate it. But then again, I have taken a different approach to it.

I realized after I quit that horrible job that I live in a city where there are plenty of jobs, so I decided to just do freelance work for a while to see if I could find a job that I could tolerate. So now, if I get a job I don't like, I just leave. Screw it, I can find work when I want it.

I haven't been so damn miserable, but I also haven't found my dream job. The feeling of not being trapped is a big comfort though, and I still do think about chucking it all and becoming a truck driver.

I think I had a mindset that the decisions I make are a lot more permanent than they are, and that is not necessarily true.

I COULD become a truck driver for a while and then come back to this graphic production work if I feel like it. I COULD move to Florida for a year and become a roadie for a christian rock band if I feel like it (not that I ever would). I COULD quit my job tomorrow and start a landscaping business if I feel like it.

I'm KickyCAN, goddammit!

What about you, StraightNoChaser? What is your job? Tell us the whole story. These people are very helpful, I'm tellin' ya. Especially this ehBeth character. She's smart.

Hmmm....I dreamed I was visiting dear little Bethieeeeeee and Set the other night.


It was odd, because I had flown over only for the day.

Toronto was oddly dingy, but it was fun meeting them!


I didn't really want to go, but they kept telling me I mustn't miss my plane.

You should come to NYC some time dlowan!!!!

Spent a month there in '97.


VERY much like to come back though.


Thing is, IF I can save the money (huge if) there is some training I would love to complete in the USA, and it would be good to combine that with a holiday.

I can get part of the fares and such back on tax when there is a work component.

Man, it is hard to save, though,

Yeah, I hear ya. Well, maybe if you ask nice, ehBeth will pay for your plane ticket. She likes buying stuff for people.

I've been thinking about the same things...
I'm glad to find this thread, as the same doubts and fears have been running through my head. My mother is a career counsellor for white-collar types, so I've had the chance to bounce some thoughts off her during my first out-of-college job.

** Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
This guy said that once you've covered your basic needs, you ignore them and start worrying only about what's missing: once you've got a roof over your head, you whine about not having enough money; once you've got money, you're all focused on not having enough friends. Then it's job satisfaction, and then philosophical/spiritual perfection. There's no end to dissatisfiers, because there's no perfect life... even if everything was momentarily aligned, you get bored and jaded and need to mess with things a bit.


** Something Bigger Than Yourself
When people do things that are Big and Meaningful and Make A Difference to the World, they seem to be happier (or at least more smug). It seems to kick in some sort of deep motivation:
There's three guys breaking rocks. Someone asks, What are you guys doing? First guy grimaces "breaking rocks." Second guy answers "making money for my family." Third guy smiles "helping build a cathedral."
Kind of cheesy, but in 'Man's Search for Meaning' the people who lived through the concentration camps without giving up were those who had something important to live for.

There's a good online book at this link:
EDIT: MODERATOR: LINK REMOVED

It goes over a lot of little things that make any workplace better by changing attitudes and small behaviors. It's upbeat. I'm pretty cynical on a good day, but I found it useful. I've also started spotting the techniques he describes in some of my nicer co-workers.

** They're All Bad Jobs
I've followed my passions in part-time work during school and college, and found that hobbies can be drained of all joy when you're on someone else's clock. Who would have guessed that my love of movies and television would become a dreary slog when I was PAID to write about them? I found myself repeating exactly the same avoid-and-delay tactics to 'enjoyable' jobs as I did with regular McJob positions.
I loved my current job for the first three months. Now it's painful about half the time and I can't focus. Sure, I could change jobs, but "wherever you go, there you will be." I'll have the same problems at the next job as the last X number.
I don't know how to fix this, but I have enough evidence to realise that it's me that's the problem. I'm getting paid well and I have good job security, so I'm trying to figure out how to fix myself. Me vs Work. Who am I fighting against? What would I rather be doing? Have I just demonised Work?

Anyway, this has been a long post. Comments welcome!

I'll definitely buy dlowan a drink if she ever gets to New York. And maybe a cupcake.